ROAD OF JUAN VADILLO THROUGH “EL VIEJO CALDAS” (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1538)

Abstract

After roaming through the wild landscape of Antioquia for eight months, looking for the gold and treasures of the indigenous community – which he was continuously told would be just around the next corner -, Cartagena Governor Juan Vadillo arrived in the Caldas region via the Caramanta Mountains on August 14th of 1538. When he arrived in Biru, the first settlement in this area, he realized that he had to leave behind the notion of finding a treasure and that the area ahead of him was already colonized and named after other Christians, such as Anserma. The story of Vadillo and the Chronicles of Pedro Cieza de Leon and Juan de Castellanos, permit the reconstruction of Vadillo’s journey as they recount the history of cities and events that were marginalized in the history of the Caldas region.